Vineyards (Isaiah 5)

 Isaiah 5:4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?

As a person who gardens, I can visualize this part of the chapter. God is the farmer, the vineyard owner. He cleared his land and planted a vineyard, put all his time and effort, all his love into this vineyard. And yet, it produced wild grapes. Wild grapes in his vineyard could be beautiful, but they may be bitter or even poisonous. They represent those people who either act like they follow God on the outside, but on the inside, they are full of planned sin. Sin that they willingly commit. Or those with false religion and the unfaithful. Their actions cause others to sin. They are like a wild weed, choking out others trying to grow in the Lord’s word. All the work God had done to prepare his vineyard produced nothing of value. It was as if he hadn’t done any preparations at all. 

Verse 4 asks what else could have been done? Had he forgotten a step in preparing the vineyard? No. God did everything right in his planting, and still yet the wild grapes grew. If the wild grapes are man, and God did all he could, then the fault of man turning sour is on man. God made us all with free will. He gave us consciousness to know right from wrong. The only way to have made a perfect vineyard I which everyone did exactly as they should at all times would be for God to have made us robots that he could control. 

Jesus came to the earth to be born, grow, teach and die on a cross for us. What more could he have done to get our attention? He endured so much to show us God’s love for us remains, yet we still turn away. People still choose to sin, they choose not to believe. If we want to be part of a successful vineyard, if we don’t want to face the wrath of the unhappy owner as in verses 5-7, we need to understand that it is our free will to accept the grace God is offering, and to turn from sin.  We have to choose to become fruitful in his word, and can do that by leading the righteous path for others to follow. We can help tend the vineyard, and use the grace given to us by God to show others how loving and forgiving God is. We cannot just accept grace and hold it to ourselves, allowing other people to just wither. Yes the vineyard is all metaphorical, but use the image to see yourself in God’s plan. How can you help God’s vineyard grow?